There's only so far you can go with any 3d engine. Once you have realistic lighting and high-enough-resolution texture maps, what else is there? At some point you just have to wait as CPUs and GPUs can handle more and more data for games to become more and more realistic.

It would be nice if the WMD intelligence had been correct.. but let's face it, if the US doesn't have a steady supply of oil, it dies. I'm sure that in the future we'll be less dependent on petroleum, but for right now, that's how it goes. And Saddam was a bad guy, WMDs or no.

Yeah, it's possible Stern's move to Sirius will be a general failure. We'll just have to wait and find out. As far as his last year, when you consider that his show is largely based on doing things that are 'distasteful' I can't blame him for complaining when he is endlessly fined and finally essentially gagged. What else is there to talk about at that point?

At any rate, you're right, Stern could fail miserably and fade into utter obscurity. I don't think that will happen, personally.. And even without Stern I still like the idea of listening to new commercial-free music from many genres, and as for an MP3-based stereo that won't give me any live content, it won't give me an easy way to listen to music I've never heard before, and I don't own a car.

If we're going to make vague assertions by saying '..has been known to..' then I can say whatever I want.

Personally I think Sirius' talk radio content is more compelling than XM's, particularly Howard Stern but also their other shows (that 'Wise Guys' show and Jay Howard), and they also have more sports coverage, if you like that sort of thing, as well as more 'big names' (if you like Martha Stewart and Richard Simmons and guys from random rock bands), and the same basic music/news/weather channels as XM.

It's possible that XM will ultimately be the victor in the satellite radio wars, especially since they're available straight from the manufacturer in more cars than Sirius and most people seem to do their radio listening while driving.. it still won't mean that XM is the better service.

Every MMORPG has an empty endgame. I suppose they could just give you an infinite number of levels with an infinite number of spells and attacks (with damage that approaches infinity).. I wonder why no one has done this yet. I bet people would play them forever. People get addicted to gambling and stealing panties and anything else you can imagine..

Blizzard has always been about cuteness with Warcraft, from the 'Zug Zug' and 'I can see my house from here!' sound effects to the cartoonish graphics (does anyone actually find the orcs scary?) and the dumbed-down interface (can only select 9 units at once?).

And oil as a primary resource? Magic internal combustion engines, I guess?

Even Starcraft and Diablo are more cartoony than anything.. In short, World of Warcraft is targeted at people who like bright colors and cutesy characters but no actual content. "Go get 5 frizzle skins to get a +9 to blizbop jerkin"!

Advertising is a necessary EVIL in real-life that we have to cope with.

Actually, it's not necessary at all. Everything that currently uses advertising to exist could easily move to a subscriber model. TV/radio shows, magazines, newspapers.. In some cases this would mean higher rates on services that are already subscription-based.

I think most people don't mind the ads. Personally I judiciously employ the mute button and fast-forward through them on any recordings (I can still make those, right?). In-theatre ads are a big reason why I no longer go out to the movies.. they make me feel like I just paid to be treated as a massive tool. I could never be a marketing guy.. Nobody NEEDS all this shit they sell, and the ads are always shameless.

More seriously.. Pitt has always been more of a pretty boy than anything, though he seemed to sort of try to go for something with movies like 12 Monkeys and Fight Club, and Angelina Jolie has never been more than a walking pair of tits and lips. Movies like "Ocean's Eleven," "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," "Interview With a Vampire," and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" are all utterly pointless fluff, profitable utterly pointless fluff..